For answers to these questions, head for the annual UH Institute for Astronomy Open House on Sunday, April 30 from 11 am to 4 pm at its Manoa headquarters on Woodlawn Drive.

New this year will be an opportunity to simulate a Mars landing (using raw eggs), learn about King Kalakaua's enthusiasm for astronomy, and watch a puppet show that connects Hawaiian culture and modern astronomy.

There will also be family lectures on hot astronomical topics such as the Deep Impact mission, dark matter, and the origin of the oceans, plus accounts of recent observing expeditions by Hawaii astronomers to the Sahara Desert and Antarctica.

Children will have the opportunity to make comets, travel through space in our Starlab planetarium, and engage in a "find the planet" hunt. There will be telescopes available to safely view the sun, the moon, and Venus, as well as practical advice for novice amateur astronomers on how to buy and use telescopes and astronomy software.

Kupuna Leilehua Omphroy and the Hawaiʻiana O Honomu, a troupe of eight educators, are traveling from Hilo with their 18 hand-carved puppets to present "ʻAno Lani ʻAno Honua, the Relationship between Heaven and Earth." They have been performing shows to great acclaim on the Big Island over the past year; this is their first visit to Oahu.

There will be tours of the IfA's research laboratories, where visitors will be able to see the world's largest digital camera under construction.

Other Oahu astronomy groups that will be represented at the IfA Open House will include the Hawaiian Astronomical Society and the Bishop Museum. Hawaii's budding astronomers will be represented by several schoolchildren who will be exhibiting their displays from the recent Schools Science Fair.